06/04/2007 - 06/05/2007

Expatriate professionals seek 'accent reduction'

It was not what Sergei Petukhov said. It was how he said it.

"The way I said 'accent reduction,' he couldn't understand me," Petukhov said. That was enough for Petukhov, a Moscow native who works for the law firm Kaye Scholer as a scientific adviser, to get his employer's approval to pay for training to decrease his Russian accent.

He is one of many educated, non-native English speakers working in the United States who take voice training and accent reduction to improve presentations, workshops and everyday conversations with their American-born co-workers.

Malaysia may change name of language

Malaysia’s government has announced a move to change the name of the national language back to “Bahasa Malaysia�, or the Malaysian language, to promote a sense of belonging to all races in the multi-cultural country, official reports said yesterday.

The original name for the language had been “Bahasa Malaysia� since the country achieved independence in 1957, but the government renamed it “Bahasa Melayu�, or the Malay Language, in 1986.

Interpreting in China

The truth needs no interpretation, so said Nicole Kidman in 2005 Hollywood blockbuster The Interpreter. For Chinese interpreters, one of the most appealing truths about their profession is a salary of up to 30,000 yuan (3,900 U.S. dollars) a month. But not everybody can earn such a serious income.

"Only those with a real mastery of languages and who can also work well when they are not prepared in advance can make very big money," said Jiang Xiaolin, general manager of Yuanpei Translation, language service supplier to the Beijing Olympics. He said one of the reasons for the high salaries was because of a major shortage of interpreters.

Row over Irish translation bill

A row was last night brewing at Stormont over Irish translation spending by Northern Ireland's Department of Health.

It has been revealed that the costs of translating press releases, speeches and documents within the department have added up to more than £150,000 over a five-year period.

Word of the Day: incipient

incipient \in-SIP-ee-uhnt\, adjective:
Beginning to exist or appear.

Also, improved diagnostic techniques can alert individuals to incipient illnesses. -- James Flanigan, "Patients' Rights and Health-Care Costs Are Expanding Together", Los Angeles Times, May 2, 1999

Cultural understanding increases seafood exports

“Norwegian seafood exporters are too laid back about their products in demanding export markets. Cultural sensitivity is the key to better results,� asserts researcher Gro Alteren in her doctoral thesis at the BI Norwegian School of Management.

Driving: Cultural Differences

Is the UK a nation of horn hogs tooting from the same hymn sheet - or are motorists a motley crew of confused communicators risking collisions with misleading signals?

With millions of vehicles out on the road communication between road users has never been so important. A toot of the horn or a raised hand can avert road rage - or provoke it especially if an American is driving in the UK as 35% of them use the horn in reaction to bad driving, and 8% use obscene gestures to make their feelings known.

Is Your Website Multilingual?

To reach 80% of the world's Internet users, a Web site needs to support a minimum of 10 languages, they are: English, Chinese, Spanish, Japanese, German, Korean, French, Italian, Russian, and Portuguese. Companies that are exporting to non-English speaking countries need to have their websites in one or more languages of their target market.

Word of the Day: perfunctory

perfunctory \pur-FUNGK-tuh-ree\, adjective:
1. Done merely to carry out a duty; performed mechanically or routinely.
2. Lacking interest, care, or enthusiasm; indifferent.

The city's moderate hotels, however, tend to offer minimal comforts, perfunctory service and dreary decor. -- Paula Butturini, "What's Doing in Naples", New York Times, April 14, 1996